THE brother of millionaire Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs was subjected to a terrifying car-jacking before his £25,000 Porsche was driven to Blackburn.
Rhodri Giggs, who plays football for Bacup Borough FC, was in his 911 Carrera outside a takeaway in Whalley Range, Manchester, when four men wearing balaclavas attacked him.
He was dragged out of the car on to the pavement and beaten before the car-jackers sped off.
Police traced the vehicle's movements through a tracker device fitted inside and it was found in a domestic garage in the Waterside area of Lower Audley, Blackburn, the next day.
Today Brent Peters, manager of Bacup Borough FC, said 26-year-old Rhodri, who signed for the club in September, was extremely shaken by the incident, on Friday night, which had left him bruised but otherwise unhurt.
He said: "I got concerned when he did not reply to my text message about the following day's match. He normally gets back to me straight away.
"When I finally spoke to him at home on Friday night, he told me what had happened.
"But even though he had been through this horrifying ordeal, he was adamant that he was going to play in Saturday's match."
Bacup Borough were due to play Stone Dominoes, in Stone, Staffordshire, in the Unibond League, but in the end the match was cancelled due to the bad weather.
Brent added: "Rhodri told me he was a regular at this takeaway and was extremely shocked and shaken by what happened to him. I think he was in the wrong place, with the type of vehicle that is a target for criminals."
Rhodri, who started his career as a trainee at Torquay United before moving on to the non-league scene, had pulled up outside the Chicken Run takeaway while a friend got out to buy them both some food.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that at 6.10pm on Friday, officers were called to the takeaway in Yarburgh Street, Whalley Range.
He said: "A male in his mid-20s had been sitting in a Porsche Carrera outside when four youths wearing balaclavas approached the vehicle.
"The man was dragged out of the car and the youths got into the vehicle and sped off. The incident is currently under investigation."
Inspector Stuart Bruce, of Blackburn Police, said it took two hours to trace the vehicle to a domestic garage once the tracker signal had been picked up on Saturday.
He said: "Because the car was moving it was difficult to get a trace on it, but once it had stopped they homed in on the signal and found it.
"The car has been taken away by police for forensic examination."
Police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened in Manchester or saw the dark blue vehicle after it was taken to contact Great Manchester police on 0161 8564440.
A 35-year-old Blackburn man was arrested in connection with the incident and has been released on bail pending further inquiries.
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